UK: Royal Navy’s Patrol Ship Demonstrates Her Capabilities

A Royal Navy River Class patrol ship has been at the centre of a large scale tri-service exercise off the South Coast of England.

HMS Tyne has been taking part in Exercise Chameleon which saw her embark a host of military personnel, including Royal Marines, Army and the Royal Air Force.

It was her role to provide a platform from which participants could train, plan and execute different stages of the exercise.

The first phase of the exercise saw Tyne using Medium Inflatable Boats (MIBs) to recover troops, and equipment, from the water after they had parachuted from a RAF C130 Hercules.

Once everyone was picked up, and settled in to their new floating home, they quickly got to work on the training element.

A key function for Tyne, and the embarked forces, was practicing the ability to insert, support and recover troops from ship to shore.

To do this, rapid launch and recovery boat drills were carried out in different weather conditions, alongside armed boarding and search drills, ending with a strategic disembarkation from ship into ‘hostile’ territory.

The exercise illustrated the wide range of tasking capabilities which the River Class vessels offer the navy in addition to their usual Marine Enforcement and Maritime Security duties.

Commanding Officer of HMS Tyne, Lt Cdr Bob Laverty, said: “Exercise Chameleon demonstrated the wider utility of the River Class Offshore Patrol Vessel.

“It has been of great benefit to my ships company to operate with other elements of the Armed Forces and has demonstrated the key role of the Royal Navy across the full spectrum of military operations.”

Having completed this exercise, HMS Tyne has now returned to her commitment of protecting the UK’s Maritime Interests in home waters.

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Press Release, April 10, 2014; Image: Royal Navy